Serena Williams pulls out of French Open 2018 ahead of clash with Maria Sharapova

Serena Williams withdrew her name from the French Open 2018 due to pectoral muscle injury. Serena had to play her Maria Sharapova in the fourth round.

“Unfortunately I’m having some issues with my pec muscle. Right now I can’t actually serve so it’s kind of hard to play,” she said.

“It’s very difficult,” Williams added. “I love playing Maria. I’ve made every sacrifice I could. I made a commitment to myself and my team that if I wasn’t at least 60% I wouldn’t play. I’ve never felt this in my life. It’s so painful.”

“I’m beyond disappointed. I gave up so much from time with my daughter & time with my family all for this moment. So it’s really difficult to be in this situation.”

Talking about her doubles clash, Serena said “I thought [doubles] was a perfect opportunity to see how I was going. I tried a lot of different tapings and support. It didn’t get a lot better.”

“I thought [doubles] was a perfect opportunity to see how I was going. I tried a lot of different tapings and support. It didn’t get a lot better.”

Serena was seen facing difficulty in even lifting her bag off court after her match on Sunday.

With Serena ruling herself out of the tournament, Sharapova will advance to the quarter-final round where she will play the winner of the Muguruza-Tsurenko match.